Virtual Program: Food Art for Kids

 Food Art for Kids was a virtual program I was really excited about doing, but it definitely took the most work and prep out of all the virtual programs thus far. It was a challenge and out of my element, but I think it came together well and it's always good to challenge ourselves as librarians and educators. 

Since there were so many great ideas to choose from on what food art to make, I knew I wanted to make sure I included really easy options and more difficult ones so this could be for kids of all ages and for parents who wanted to give it a try. I also wanted to narrow it down to a theme and came up with the idea of food based on children's books. This theme made the program so much fun to show. 

There are so many examples online and some really great holiday ideas too. 

I started off explaining a little bit about food art and how you can play around with food shapes, get your kids to eat healthy foods, and make a nice surprise for snacks and parties. 

The books I used to base around my food art were The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, The Cat in the Hat, We're Going on a Bear Hunt, and Rainbow Fish. All classics and all fun to use as inspiration to make some food art. 

Since it is around Halloween, I also added a simple pumpkin food art craft that uses a clementine and celery. 

This was a virtual program that allowed me to try something I would have avoided doing for an in-person program because it involves food and I wouldn't want to worry about food allergies and germs when food is involved. 

Virtual Program: Zoo Animal Storytime

One of my virtual programs for September was a Zoo Animal Storytime. This came together really well, was a whole lot of fun to film, and had a lot of books and ideas to chose from to put together. 

I ended up reading a total of three stories, making this a longer video but I added the two books at the end of the video so that parents could stop the video after the first story and craft demonstration. 

Typically, our videos have been anywhere from 5 minutes to 30 minutes, with 15 minutes being the average. It's tempting to make longer videos but we do have to be conscious of little one's attention spans and screen times. 

I started off storytime by reading Lori Degman's silly book 1 Zany Zoo. It's laugh-at-loud funny and really brings out the zoo theme. Afterwards, I did a rhyming color flannelboard story using elephants and then we jumped into our next book.

Our next book was Warning: Do Not Open This Book! by Adam Lehrhaupt. Another funny one that was a pleasure to read out loud. 

I wanted to add an animal song to this storytime and was able to add animal pictures to the background to help kids follow along with the help of my husband. 

After our song, it was time to show my virtual audience the swinging monkey craft they could try at home using construction paper and a straw. I thought the kids would enjoy playing with their craft and having their monkey swinging from the trees. 

At this point, I ended storytime for those who might not be able to sit still at the computer for another story, but did mention if they could to stay for Jory John's Giraffe Problems. I just couldn't pass up reading this one! It's one of my favorite books to read for a zoo storytime.  If you haven't read it, please do! It will not disappoint. 

Book of the Month: Up on Bob

 

Up on Bob by Mary Sullivan reads like a fun cartoon and is this month's Book of the Month. I chose this book because since I have a dachshund and love dogs, I just had to read this one and it did not disappoint! This is a very cute story about a dog who just wants to nap.

Summary: Bob loves to nap. He works hard to make everything just right. But then...Someone comes along. Will Bob be able to make everything just right again? Will Bob get his nap?

"Uh-oh. Suddenly everything is not perfect."

Ages: Preschool to age 3 

This simple story is perfect for beginning readers who love animals! It reminds me of a funny cartoon in picture book format that tells a cute and silly story between a dog and cat that will get your kids to laugh. 

Book of the Month: Under My Tree

 Under My Tree by Muriel Tallandier and Mizuho Fujisawa is my September Book of the Month that celebrates nature and encourages appreciating our Earth's environment. Such a beautiful thing is a child's love of our planet.

Summary: During a visit to her grandparents, Susanne leaves the city behind and journeys into the forest. There she discovers how incredible the natural world can be in this charming story of friendship between a curious child and her favorite tree.

Ages: 3 to 8 years old

"And so, I said goodbye to my tree. I squeezed her tightly and rested my head against her trunk. --Thank you, friend, for making me so happy." 

I can tell a lot of effort was put into this picture book with the colorful and bright pictures, the loving storyline involving friendship and nature, the structure of the book, and the helpful discussion questions on most pages. 

This book would be perfect for any child who loves playing in nature, needs to learn about the seasons, wants to hear a friendship story that let's them think outside of the box, and for fun suggestions on how to learn from a tree. There is also a counting element in this book when counting Susanne's visits to her favorite tree. 

Tallandier and Fujisawa's book will make their readers want to find their favorite tree.